Addressing machine for multisection bills



y 2, 1940- H. P. ELLIOTT 2,206,743

ADDRESSING MACHINE FOR MULTISECTION BILLS Filed Nov. 26, 1957 6Sheets-Sheet 1 fly 30 l sa 1";fim0/ -34 /I,229,0- /42 284 i InverfirorrHw P. m

July 2, 1940. H. P. ELLIOTT ADDRESSING MACHINE FOR MULTISECTIONBILLS 6Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 26, 1957 Inc/621202".

SQ www July 2, 1940- H. P. ELLIOTT ADDRESSING MACHINE FOR MULTISECTIONBILLS Filed Nov. 26, 1937 6 Sheets$heet 4 July 2, 1940. H. P. ELLIOTTADDRESSING MACHINE FOR MULTISECTION BILLS Filed Nov. 26, 1957 6Sheets-Sheet 6 Patented July 2, 1940 ADDRESSING MACl-gNE FORMULTISECTIQN Harmon r. Elliott, Water-town, Mass. Application November26, 1937, Serial No. 176,436 15 Claims. (Cl. 101----5'l) This inventionrelates to a machine for addressing multisection sheets, such as thebills of many public utilities, which bills consists of a main sectionand one ormore detachable sections, each of which sections is intendedto receive the same address. I

The various sections contain printed matter and the present machine isintended to apply the addresses to the preprinted bills.

One of the objects of the present invention is the provision of anaddressing machine adapted to receive a series of individual bill forms,introduced into the machine either manually or automatically, themachine having mechanism for advancing the separate bills intermittentlyby steps of predetermined length, the address printing mechanism of themachine being such that the same address can be printed repeatedly indifferent predetermined positions on the bill form or on the differentsections thereof.

A further and more specific object of the invention is the provision ofbill advancing mechanism including a driving sector having a billengaging and driving peripheral portion of predetermined length equal tothe space between consecutive addresses and mechanism for rotating thedriving member between addressing operations to advance the bill by thelength of the driving periphery so as to position a different part ofthe bill in address receiving position.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a bill addressingmachine having mechanism for advancing the successive bills in aposition to receive the first. address and mech anism for advancing thebill by steps of predetermined extent for receiving repetitions of thesame address and for ultimately delivering the bill into a second billadvancing mechanism which rapidly extracts the addressed bill from themachine.

A further feature of the invention is the provision of a bill addressingmachine having an improved form of mechanism for transferring successivebills from a stack of such bills and advancing the successive billsthrough the machine.

Another object of the invention is the provisio-nbf bill addressing andfeeding mechanism having bill guiding'and feeding parts which can beremoved to permit the machine to operate as a versatile addressingmachine.

A yet further object of the invention is generally to improve uponaddressing machines and addressing methods.

Fig. 1 isan end elevation of the machine embodying the present inventionviewed from the left hand or bill delivery end 01. the machine.

Fig. 2 is a plan view 01' the machine of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is atransversesection taken along line 3-3 of Fig. 2. i

Fig. 4 is an end detail of the stencil advancing mechanism taken alongline 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are sequent views taken along line 5-5 of Fig. 2, Fig.5 illustrating particularly the mechanism for advancing successivepreprinted bills to the action of the machine, Fig. 6 illustrating themechanism for advancing the bills into and through the addressingelements of the machine, and Fig. 7 illustrating the mechanism fordelivering the addressed bill.

Fig. 8 is a sectional detail of a bill retaining pad of Fig. 5 takenalong line 8-8 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 9 is an elevation on the pad of Fig. 8. Fig. 10 is a sectionaldetail of the bill guideway taken along line Ill-it of Fig. 5. Fig. 11is a diagrammatic view taken lengthwise of the bill sheet andillustrating the position of the bill with respect to the stop fingerand the in-feeding rolls for the first address.

Fig. 12 is a sectional detail of the idler roll of :the intermittentbill advancing mechanism taken along line l2--fl2 of Fig. '7. i Fig. 13is a sectional detail of the disconnectible connection between the billadvancing sector and the driving mechanism therefor taken along linel3-l3 ofFig. 2.

Fig. 14 is a plan view of a pre-printed multisection public service billadapted to be addressed by the present machine. v

Fig. 15 is a perspective view of an address'bear ing stencil used inconnection with the present machine.

Fig. 16 is an end detail of the machine for automatically disabling thepusher, looking from the left hand end of Fig. 4.

The machine embodying thepresent invention includes a flat bed or table20 supported upon the top of a suitable frame 22. The table is pro videdin the middle of the front edge thereof with a recess- 24 in which theupper end of a vertical stencil receiver 26 of suitable construction islocated.

The machine is adapted to operate upona series of address-bearingprinting devices, which specifically are stencils 28 of suitable wellknown construction, see Fig. 15, a vertical stack of which stencils iscontained in a holder 30 rising from the rear portion of the table 20.The table is provided with a groove 32 leading from the stencil holderof the stencil receiver. A pair of mm" om..-

- grooves in their confronting faces are located in the groove 82 andprovides a stencil track or guideway along which the stencils'are movedin succession from the stencllholder 80 to the receiver 25.

The mechanism for moving the successive lowermost stencils from theholder into and along the guideway includes a pusher 88, see especiallyFigs. 3 and 4, disposed below the holder 30 and reciprocable on a pairof parallel guide rods 88 from a position inthe rear of the stack ofstencils to'a position where the rear edge of the lowermost stencil isadvanced into the guidewav.

The pusher is provided with a pair ofabutments 4d at each. side thereofin proximity to the guide rods 38 which. are adapted to be locatedbehind and engage the rearmost edge of the lowermost stencil to advanceit forwardly of the stack and into the stencil guideway. The pusher isalso provided with rear elevated portions 42 which support the stack ofstencils while the lowermost one is being advanced thereby to remove theweight of the stack from the advancing stencil. J

The pusher is reciprocated by means of a link 44 which ispivotallyconnected at its forward end to the pusher and its rear end toan upstanding arm 46 integral with a hub 48 loosely supported upon anoscillating shaft 50 located below the rear end of the table andsupported therefrom by depending brackets 52 and 54, see especially Fig.4. The hub 48 carries anarcuate sector 58 having a radial face providedwith an aperture adapted removably to receive a clutch pin58 carried bya hub 80 which is movable axially on the shaft 50, but is keyed theretofor conjoint rotation therewith. Thus the hub 60 compression spring 82which encircles the shaft 50 and bears against the hub and the bearingbracket 54.

The hub. is connected with and is disconnected from the sector 56periodically to obtain a predetermined number of repetitions of theaddress of a stencil as will presently appear and also by means undercontrol of the operative. Said operative-controlled means includes a rod84 journalled in an ear 86 of the bearing bracket 54 and having fixedthereto a depending arm 68 carrying aroller 10' located in an annulargroove 12 of the hub. Thus when the arm 88 is swung in a clockwisedirection, Fig. 4, the hub 80' is moved axially against the action ofthe spring 62 to disengage the hub from driving engagement: with thesector 50. The arm 68 is operated by an arm .13 fixed to the pin 68 andpivotally connected at its free end with a vertical connecting rod'IG,the lower end of which is pivotedto the outer end of an arm I8 fixed toa shaft 80 journalled in an extension 82 of the bearing bracket 54 atone end and in a bearing. bracket 84 at the other end. The shaft 80 hasan arm 88 fixed thereto which is pivotally connected to the upper end ofa rod 88 extended downwardly'to the lower front part of the frame 22 andpivotally connected to the rear end of a "repeat pedal 90.

The present machine is provided with three pedals 92, but one of whichis shown in Fig. 1. These pedals are known, respectively, as the2,200,743 v "print, the "repeat and the "skip" pedals, and

can be singly or conjointly depressed by the operative to efiect controlof the machine to start the machine in operation to repeat the printingof the address of any selected stencil or to skip or pass the selectedstencil through the printing mechanism without effecting a printingoperation thereof. Thus by a depression of the repeat pedal the pushercan be disabled so that a stencil that is in' addressing position staystherein during the next printing operation or for any number of printingoperations until the repeat pedal is raised to restore the connectionbetween the hub 80 and the sector 58. J

The oscillable shaft 56 is oscillated or rocked by means of an arm 04,see Figs. 1, 3 and 4, fixed thereto and pivotally connected to the rearend of a link 96, the forward-end of which is pivotally connected to thelower end of an upwardly extended link 98 pivoted at 100 to asuitablesupport beneath the table 20. The swinging link 98 is provided with alateral roller 802 which operates in a cam slot I04 of a cam I08 pivotedon a shaft I08 fixed between arms I I0 of a bracket II2 secured to theunder face of the table 20. The configuration of the cam slot I04 issuch as to eil'ect oscillation of the shaft 50 and hence reciprocationof the pusher 38 in the proper manner. The arm I08 is reciprocated by aconnecting rod II 4 driven by a power mechanism II8, now

well known in the art and unnecessary to detently rotating shaft H8which is under control of the start pedal, not shown, and makes onecomplete rotation for an operating cycle of the machine following thedepression of the start pedal. The shaft 8 operates the connecting rodII4.

The power mechanism also-includes a continuously rotating shaft I20which delivers power into the mechanism from the driving motor I22. Thepower mechanism I I8 is tied rigidly with the bracket II2 by means of arigid tie member I24 which is bolted to the housing of the powermechanism and connected to the shaft I08, see Figs. 1 and 3. I v

The printing mechanism. includes an anvil or platen I26-located abovethe'stencil track forwardly of the stencil holders and fixed to the.

rear of the platen and carried by upstanding ears I82 of the bracket H2.The arms have an integral depending projection I34 below said shaft I30,which projection is provided with a roller I86 which cooperates with thecam face I88 of an operating arm I40 pivoted to the shaft I08.Reciprocation of said arm effects consequent reciprocation of the armsI28 and the movement. of the platen toward and away from the stencils.-v

Cooperating with the platen is a resilient printing' roll I42 disposedbeneath the stencil track and the platen and journalled in a frame I44pivoted at I48 to the bracket 2. I44 carries a cam roller I48 whichcooperates with a cam face I50 of said operating arm I40 so thatreciprocation of the arm I40 moves the printing roll I42 into and out ofengagement with the stencils thereabove. v

The printing roll I42 receives ink on its periphery from an inkingmechanism I52 whic need not be described in further detail.

The frame The operating'arm I40 for the printing mecha- 7 moans end ofthe operating arm and having a latch projection I56 which is normallyheld in a notch I60 of the cam arm I06 by means of a spring I62, therebyto effect the driving engagement between the arms I06 and I40.

The latch can be disconnected from the cam arm I 06 thereby to disablethe printing mechanism so as to skip a stencil selected visually by theoperative. To this end a generally vertical lever I64 is fixed to apinIBG journalled in a bracket I68, see Fig. 4, depending from the rearedge of the table 20. The upper end of said lever is adapted forcooperation with stencil control, selector mechanism, forming no part(if the present invention and not herein illustrated. The lower end ofthe lever is provided with a cam face I10 that cooperates with a camroll I12 of the latch I54. Thus by swinging the lower end of the leverin a clockwise directiomj Fig. 3,, the latch can be removed from engagement with the cam arm or sector I06 to disable the printing mechanism.The lever I64 is normally retained in an unoperated position by atensile spring I14. The lever I64 is operated manually by means of anarm I16 fixed to the pin I66 and pivoted to the upper end of a pedaloperated rod I18 the lower end of which is pivotally connected to therear end of a repeat pedal I80. Thus by depressing the repeat pedal thelatch I54 is disconnected from the cam sector I06 and the printingmechanism is disabled so that selected stencils can be passed throughthe printing position without being operated upon by the platen andprinting roll. This skip feature, however, while useful when the machineis operated for general purposes, is not employed in applying addressesto bill forms.

Since for the purpose of the present invention,

plural and specifically three repetitions oftthe same address are to berecorded on the same bill form, means are provided to retain eachdesired stencil in addressing position during three operations of theaddressing machine. Said means includes mechanism in control of themovable clutch member 60 of the stencil pusher, see Figs. 3, 4 and 16.

A shaft I [II is journalled in the bracket 54 for the oscillable shaft50 and has fixed on one end thereof a disc I03 having fourequi-angularly spaced notches I05 in its periphery which cooperate witha roller I 01 journalled on an arm I09 movable with the clutch operatingarm 50 and so arranged that when the roller is on a smooth part ofthedisc-periphery the clutch 60 is held disengaged from the pusher andhence the pusher is held inoperative. -When, however, the pusher dropsinto a notch M the clutch is engaged and the pusher is caused tooperate. The disc is so rotated that the pusher remains in a notch onlyfor one machine operation.

Three machine operations are required to advance the disc under theroller to the next, notch. The disc is advanced in a step by step mannerby means includinga twelve-tooth ratchet wheel I II fixed to theopposite end of the shaft and engaged by a pawl H3 carried by an arm II5 pivoted on said shaft IIlI and having a bifurcated lower end engagedby a pin II1 fixed to an arm H9 carried by and oscillable with theaforesaid shaft 50. Thus threeoscillations of the arm H9 and shaft arerequired to advance the disc I03 over the roller I01 from one notch tothe next the bills and the underlying stencils.

3 so that the pusher is operated to change stencils after every thirdaddressing operation.

The bill form I62 adapted to be addressed by the machine of the presentinvention is illustrated in Fig. 14 and comprises a plurality ofpro-printed sections, a, b, c, detachable from each other along thelines it and e, and each adapted to receive an address 1, the addressesbeing equidistant. While the bill herein illustrated has the section bshorter than the sections a and c, neither the length nor the number ofthe sections is important so far as the principle of the presentinvention is concerned except that the machine is designed to operateupon a bill of certain dimensions and number of sections.

The successive bills are adapted to be moved through the printingmechanism along a removable guideway I84, see especially Figs. 2, 5, 6,'7 and 10.. The guideway consists of a bottom wall I86 and upstandingside walls I88 spaced apart by the width of the bill form. The sidewalls are provided with plates I90 which overlie the side edges of thebottom wall to provide between them and' the bottom wall a track for thebill forms. The guideway I84 overlies the stencil track and is disposedbetween it and the printing anvil I26, the bottom wall I86 of the billguideway having an opening I92 therein under the anvil to permitpressure engagement between The bill guideway is provided with laterallyextending ears I94 through which clamping. screws R96 are passed and arescrew threaded into the table 20 to secure the guideway removably inposition.

The bill forms are adapted to be automatically fed into the billguideway by the mechanism best illustrated in Figs. 2 and 5. A stack ofbill forms is disposed face down upon a supporting table I98 disposed atthe right hand end of the table '20. The table is pivotally connected atits right 6 hand end to the upper end of a pair of brace members 200which at their lower end are secured to the frame 22 of the machine. Theintermediate portion of the table is supported by a vertical rack 202,the upper end of which is pivoted at 204 to the under side of the table.A shaft 206 is rotatably supported in bearings 7200 carried by the bracemembers 200 beside the rack 202. The shaft 206 has fixed thereto a gear2 I0 which meshes with the rack. The knob m is fixed to the shaft sothat the shaft can be rotated manually to raise and lower the rack andthus raise and lower the front end of the table. A ratchet wheel 2% isfixed to the shaft and engages a spring pressed detent m which normallyholds the ratchet wheel against rotation due tothe weight of the tableand thus holds the table in any adjusted position. By moving the detent2I6 away from the ratchet wheel the table is caused to drop by itsweight upon a support Elli carried by the table 20. A spring 220normally holds the rack 202 in engagement with the gear 2 I0.

With this arrangement the top of the stack of bill forms can be adjustedto the level of the entrance of the bill guideway'in proportion as theheight of the stack diminishes due to the removal of the bill formstherefrom.

The frontend of the stack of bill forms is disposed between a pair ofvertical fingers 222 by which the stack is held in line with theguideway. The rear end of the stack is disposed between 21. pair of.vertical plates 224 secured releasably to the table I98 by screws 228.The inner faces of plates 224 have pads 228 of sponge rubber or the likesecure d thereto by means including screws 2%, see Figs. 5 and 9. Saidsponge rubber pads are engaged with the side edges of the bills of thestack with suficient firmness to hold the lower bills from the stackagainst forward movement while the uppermost bill of the stack is beingadvanced.

The advancing mechanism for the uppermost bill of the stack includes anarm 232, see Figs. 2 and 5, disposed at one side of the table andpivoted at its lower end on the aforesaid shaft 2%. A rod 23% isjournalled in the upper end of said arm and overlies the bill stack. Anarm 2% is fixed removably' to said rod 2% and projects forwardly or tothe left therefrom. At its forward end it is provided with a pair oi?links 238 preierably clamped securely to the arm'and having a softrubber feed roll 2% pivoted between their lower ends. llhc weight of thearm 23% and associated parts is such as to press the-feed roll Milfirmly uponthe topmost bill of the stack irrespective of the height ofthe stack within the limits of the machine and reciprocation oi the arm232 causes the roll to be reciprocated lengthwise oi the stack and inengagement with the uppermost bill thereof.

The roll 2th is arranged to roll freely betweenthe links 238 duringretracting movement of the roll but to be held from rotation during theforward movement of the roll and thereby to be in suificient frictionalengagement with the upper" most bill of the stack to move it lengthwiseofi the stack and into the bill guideway. To this end the arm 2% isprovided with a clutch plate 2st which depends from the arm andterminates beaccessehind the roll 2% and in close proximity thereto andat an angle to the periphery thereof.

As thus arranged when the roll is advanced toward the left, Fig. 5, theplate 2% due to its angle of engagement with the roll and thecompressibility oi the roll is caused to dig. thereinto and hold theroll from rotating. Thus as the roll advances it acts as a stationaryfriction pad that engages the uppermost bill sumciently firmly to surelyadvance it off the stack and into the bill guideway. On the retractionmovement of the roll the relation between the roll and the clutch plateis such that the roll can rotate freely in contact with the uppermostbill and hence exerts no driving tendency thereon.

The roll is reciprocal-ed by means of a connecting rod 244 having alongitudinally elongated slot ,246 in one end thereof in which a pin 2%fixed to the roller operating arm 232 is located. A relatively strongtension spring 258 is connected with the pin 248 and with a part oftheconnecting rod 24% and serves to" hold the pin 246 normally in the lefthand end of the slot. The other end of the connecting rod is pivoted ona crank pin 252 of a crank arm 254 fixed to a shaft 256 journalled in abracket 258 secured to the underside of the machine table 20. Thusrotation of the shaft 25% effects reciprocation of the connecting rod245 and hence of the feed roll 240, the force for advancing the feedroll being transmitted through the spring 250. If there is someobstruction in the way of the feed roll the spring 250 yields and thusprevents-damage to the associated parts.

The shaft 256 is driven from a shaft 260 journalled in the bracket 258through small and large spur gears 262- and 264 fixed respectively tothe shafts 260 and 256, the shaft 260 making three revolutions to onerevolution of the shaft 256 for advancing the three section bill hereinshown. The shaft 260 is driven through miter gears 266 ingniechanismabove described and the bill advancing mechanism to be described. I

The successive bills from the stack are delivered into the bill guidewaya sufiicient distance to be engaged by a pair of cooperating driving andidler rolls tit and t lt respectively. The driving roll 2% is h red to ashaft 2% journalled in. a bracket tilt, see Fig. 11, and the upperperipheral portion thereof is located in aligned slots of the machinetable 2@ and the bottom of the bill guideway and projects lntotheguideway so as to be overlaid by the bill. The idler roll are is adaptedto be moved downwardly to press the bill into driving 2% which extendslongitudiengagement with the driving roll did thereby to projectsslightly into the upper part of the bill guideway to be overlaid withthe bill. Said roll is fixed to ashaft 29d journalled in brackets 292fixed to the under side of the machine table, see Figs. 1 and l. Theidler roll 28% is adapted to be reciprocated toward and away from thedriving roll so as to cause the bill at the proper time to be ven by thedriving roll and advanced out oi the bill guideway.

The driving roll 23! is driven by means ing a pulley 29d fixed to theroll shaft 2% about which is passed a half-turn belt 2% that is passedabout a pulley 298 fixed to a counter-shaft 3th iournalled in a bracket3H2 secured to the machine frame 22 and also journalled in the aforesaidbracket 272. The shaft 3% is driven by means including a cross belt 396from the eontinuously operating shaft i2t of the power mechanism tit. v

The iii-feeding roll 276 is driven concurrently with and at the sameperipheral speed as the out-feeding roll 286. For this purpose the shaft290 of the roll 284 has a pulley 306 fixed thereto about which a belt306 is passed. Said belt'is passed about idler rolls 3m carried by abracket 3l2 secured to the tile member I243, see Figs. 1 and ll, andthence about a pulley 3H8 fixed to the shaft 280 that carriesthem-feeding roll 216.

The idler rolls 218 and 286 are adapted to be reciprocated conjointly.To this end the idler roll 218, see Figs. 2 and 6, is journalled on ashoulder bolt 3l6 adjustably secured in the slot MB of an arm 32l1clamped to a shaft 322 journalled in brackets 324 detachably fixed toand rising fromvthe top of the machine table 26. The out-feeding idlerroll 286, see Figs. 2 and '7, is journalled on a bolt 326 fixed in anarm 328 clamped to a shaft 330 journalled in brackets includ- 332detachably secured to and rising from the arm 336 fixed to the, shaft336 -and the other end , of which is pivotally connected to anupstanding arm 336 fixed to the shaft 322. With this mechanism both thein-feeding out-feeding idler rolls are movable simultaneously toward andaway from their cooperating driving rolls. I

The idler rolls are oscillated by means of an arm 340' which is fixedto-the rear end of the shaft 322 and has a laterally projecting roller342 at its lower end which overlies and rides upon a cam 344 fixed tothe shaft 256 that operates the mechanism for feeding the successivebills into the action of the in-feeding rolls. The cam 344 has acircular part which holds the idler rolls in elevated unoperatedposition and also has a recessed portion 346 which permits the idlerrolls to drop down into engagement with the underlying bills to advancethe bills: The periph-,

eral extent of the recessed portion 346 of the cam is sufficient tocause the bills to be advanced from the in-feeding roll into position toreceive the first address and to cause the out-feeding roll to extractthe addressed bill from the machine.

The in-feeding bill is held frictionally in addressing position duringthe addressing operation by a spring finger or strip 348, see Figs. 2

screw 354 carried by the block 352 and bearing on the arm 326 so as tochange its angular position with respect to the shaft and thus the de-*gree of spring pressure exerted on the bill strip. When the idler rollsdescend to advance the bill the strip 346 rises away from the bill topermit the free feeding thereof.

The bill is advanced by the in-feeding rolls a predetermined distance asdetermined by the setting of a stop plate 356which, when in operativeposition is located in the path of movement of the bill and constitutesanabutment against which the leading edge of the bill impinges torestrict further advance of the bill and to define the position of thefirst address. The plate 356 is carried by a rod 358, see Figs. 2, 6 and'7, which is secured in a longitudinally adjustable manner in one end ofa lever 36!) fixed to a rod 362 journalled in upstanding brackets 364 ofthe bill guideway. The other end of the lever is located below and isadapted to be engaged by a laterally projectingroll 366 carried by anarm 36B fixed to the shaft 330 of the out-feeding idler roll.-

Thus as the out-feeding idler roll 286 is caused to descend the arm 366is elevated thereby permitting the heavier end of the lever 366 to dropand to position the stop plate 356 in a position to be engaged by theincoming bill.

The bill sheet is advanced successively between the printing mechanismthe distance between consecutive addresses by means including a drivingsector 316, see Figs. 1, 2, 6 and '7. Said sector is disposed above thebill guideway at one side of the printing anvil and is fixed to ahorizontal shaft 3'l2 journalled in a bearing 3M removably secured toand upstanding above the machine table 26 and having a detachableconnection 315, see especially Fig. 13, with an aligned drive shaft 316journalled in bearings 318. Said shaft 316 has a sprocket 380 fixedthereto and driven by means of a chain 382 from a sprocket 384 of thesame pitch diameter fixed to a shaft 388 journalled in abracket 388.Said shaft 336 has a mutilated gear 390 fixed thereto which is in meshwith a corresponding mutilated gear392 of twice the diameter fixed tothe shaft 394 and driven by means of miter gears 396 from the driveshaft 268. With this arrangement the driving sector 320, when rotated,is rotated at twice the speed of the drive shaft 268 and the gears 390and 392 are so arranged that the sector is held stationaryduring onerevolution of the shaft 268. Thus the sector can advance the billbetween consecutive addressing positions during the time betweenconsecutive'printing operations of the printing mechanism. i

The driving sector 310 is provided with a circumferential driving face398, the driving length ofxwhich in engagement with the bill sheet isequal to the distance between the successive addresses. The sectorcooperates with an idler roll 406 which is disposed beneath the billform and supports the bill when the driving sector is in pressureengagement therewith. Said roller 406, see especially Figs. 2, 7 and 12,is located in a recess 402 of the bottom wall of the track so as toproject slightly above the bottom wall and is journalled on a shaft 404located close 'under the track and having one end thereof ooselyreceived in an ear 406 of the track. The other end of the shaft islocated in a notch 463 formed in one end of a lever 4H] pivoted at 2 toa side wall of thetrack, the other and free end of'the leading edge isdisposed between the in-feeding rolls 216 and 218. These rolls arebrought intoengagement with the bill and advance it into the printingmechanism. The distance from the infeeding rolls to the printingmechanism is adapted to be such that the bill is in proper position toreceive the first address at or prior to the time the trailing edge ofthe bill leaves the bite of the rolls, as indicated in Fig. 11. Theleading edge of the bill comes up against the stop plate 356 which atthis time has been in the lowered position. Thus the position of thefirst address'is accurately predetermined. The bill need not have passedcompletely out from the bite of the iii-feeding rolls at the time theleading edge thereof engages the stop plate as the bill can bulgebetween the rolls and the stop plate since the bulge will flatten out bybackward movement of the rear portion of the bill when the idler roll iselevated. As the idler roll moves upwardly the spring finger 348 exertspressure upon the bill in the vicinity of the printing mechanism to holdthe bill against rearward movement. The printing mechanism then operatesto imprint an address on the first bill section. During this time thedriving sector 396 has remained in the unoperated position illustratedin Figs. 6 and 7. When the idler rolls are moved into elevated positionthe stop plate has also been moved into elevated position so that thebill is free to be advanced by the sector 398. The sector now rotatesand pinches the bill between itself and the cooperating roll 462 andadvances the bill by the m length of the circumferential driving facethereor and positions the second section or the bill into position toreceive the address. The printing mechanism then operates and imprints arepetition of the same address. The sector again rotates and advancesthebill to position the third section between the elements of theaddressing mechanism which then operate to incprint the third repetitionoi? the address. The leading edge of the bill at this time is positionedbetween the out-feeding rolls which then engage the bill and advance itout of the machine into the hopper 288. At the same time a new bill hasbeen fed into position between the lid-feeding rolls which advance thesecond bill to the first printing position. Aiter'the last address on abill is printed the stencil pusher operates to advance a new stencilinto printing position to operate on a new bill form.

The bill guideway and the various feed rolls associated with the billaddressing mechanism that is above the machine table to can be re-'moved to condition the machine for general addressing purposes.

I claim:

1. In a machine for addressing a series of separate multi=section bills,bill addressing mechanism, means deflmng a guldeway along which thesuccessive separate bills are adapted to move through the addressingmechanism, a stop engageable with the leading edges of the successivebills and positioned a predetermined distance from said addressingmechanism to definethe position oi the first address on the successivebills, bill advancint. mechanism disposed between said stop and saidaddressing mechanism and arranged for driving engagement with thesuccessive bills to move them through said addressing mechanism, andmeans advancing the successive bills into said advancing mechanism freefrom driving engagement therewith and against said stop.

2. In a machine for addressing multl-section bills, addressing '1 meanshaving an intermittent engagement with the bill for advancing it in astep by step manner through said addressing mechanism, means for holdingsaid dressing mechanism in position to receive the first address andinto said advancing mechanism, a stop engageable with the leading edgesof the successive bills and disposed in position to define the positionof the first address on the bill, bill out-feeding mechanism arranged toreceive the addressed bills and move them away from said advancingmechanism, means to remove said stop from holding engagement with a billin addressing position at least during the time that said advancingmechanism'is advancing the 'bill, and means to operate said in and outfeeding mechanisms to feed in a. bill only after a completely addressedbill is out of said addressing mechanism.

dressing mechanism, and bill out-feeding mechanism, positioned toreceive the addressed bill from said advancing mechanism and havingmeans to move said bill away from said advancing mechanism.

5. In a machine for addressing multi-section bills, addresing mechanism,bill ire-feeding mechanism arranged to advance successive bills towardsaid addressing mechanism, bill outfeeding mechanism arranged to advancesuccessive addressed bills away from said addressing? mechanism, andmeans having intermittent drivins engagement with the bill for advancingthe bill in a step by step manner through said. addressing mechanism,and means for rendering said iii-feeding and out feeding mechanisminoperative while said advancing mechanism is in drving engagement witha hill.

6. In a machine for addressing multi-section bills, addressingmechanism, means having an intermittent driving engagement with a billfor advancing it in a step by step manner through said addressingmechanism, iii-feeding mechanism disposed approximately one bill lengthfrom said advancing mechanism for advancing a bill into the actionofsaid mechanism, out-feeding mechanism disposed approximately one billlength from said advancing mechanism for receiving the addressed billand removing it from said advancing mechanism, and means rendering saidiii-feeding and out-feeding mechanisms inoperative when said billadvancing mechanism is conditioned for driving engagement with a bill.

Z. In a machine for addressing multi-section bills, addressingmechanism, mechanism having an intermittent driving contact with a billfor advancing it in a step by step manner through said addressingmechanism, intermittently acting iii-feeding rolls operative to advancea bill into position to be gripped by said advancing mechanism at thetime said advancing mechanism is out of contact with the bill, andintermittently acting out-feeding rolls disposed in position to receivean addressed bill from said advancing mechanism and to remove the billfrom the action of said advancing mechanism following the delivery ofthe bill to said out-feeding rolls when said driving mechanism is out ofcontact with the bill.

8. In a machine for addressing multi-section bills, addressingmechanism, bill in-feeding mechanism for advancing a bill toward saidaddressing mechanism comprising a driven roll and a cooperating swingingidler-roll, bill out-feeding mechanism for moving the addressed billaway from said addressing mechanism comprising a driving roll and acooperating swinging idler roll, advancing mechanism between theaforesaid mechanisms for advancing the bill in a step by step mannerthrough said addressing mechanism and into the action of saidout-feedin: mechanism, and means for swinging said idler rollsconjointly into and away from cooperative relation with their associateddriving rolls.

9. In a machine for addressing multi-section bills, addressingmechanism, bill in-feeding mechanism for advancing a bill toward saidaddressing mechanism comprising a driven roll and a cooperating swingingidler roll, bill out-feeding mechanism for moving the addressed billaway from said addressing mechanism comprising a driving roll and acooperating swinging idler roll, advancing mechanism for advancing thebill in a step by step manner through said addressing mechanism and intothe action of said out-feeding mechanism, a stop engageable with theleading edge of a bill to define its initial address receiving positionin said addressing mechanism, and means to swing said idler rolls intoand away from cooperative relation with their associated driving rollsand also to move said stop out of and into the path of advance of thebill. I

10. In a machine for addressing multi-section bills, addressingmechanism, in-feeding mechanism disposed on one side of said addressingmechanism and comprising a driving roll and a cooperating swinging idlerroll, out-feeding mechanism disposed on the other side of saidaddressing mechanism and comprising a cooperating swinging idler roll,mechanism interconnecting saidswinging idler rolls for effectingconjoint movement thereof into and away from cooperative relation withtheir associated driving rolls, and advancing mechanism having anintermittent driving engagement with a bill for advancing the billthrough said addressing mech-' anism in a step by step manner andpresenting the bill to the action of said out-feeding mechanism.

11. In a machine for addressing multi-section bills, addressingmechanism, a stop removablydisposed in the path of advance of a billthrough said addressing mechanism and. in position to define thelocation of the initial address on the \bill, bill in-feeding mechanismdisposed on one side of said addressing mechanism and approximately onebill length away from said stop and comprising a driving roll and acooperating swinging idler roll. a rotatable bill advancing sectorhaving a length of bill engaging periphery equal to the distance betweensuccessive addresses on the bill for advancing the bill in a step bystep manner through said addressing a mechanism, bill out-feedingmechanism disposed on the other side of said addressing mechanism andcomprising a driving roll and a cooperating swinging idler roll locatedapproximately one bill length away from'said' bill advancing sector andoperative to receive the addressed bill and move it away from saidsector, mechanism interconnecting said swinging rolls to effect conjointmovement thereof into and out of bill driving cooperation with theirrespective driving rolls, and means associated with said mechanism foralso moving said stop out of and into the path of advance of the bill.

12. In a machine as defined in claim 11 the addition of means adapted toengage the bill at times it is in addressing position and is free fromdriving engagement with a feeding mechanism for holding said billstationary in addressing position during the time said sector is freefrom engagement with the bill, and means for moving said holding meansout of bill holding position at the time said in-feeding mechanism isoperative.

13. In a bill addressing machine, addressing mechanism, a table, a billguideway removably said guideway and a cooperating idler roll journalledin said guideway beneath said bottom wall and having a peripheral partthereof extended through the bottom wall.

14. In a machine for addressing the several sections of multi-sectionbills, a driving member repeatedly movable into and out of drivingengagement with a bill and having a bill engaging part of the efiectivebill engaging and feeding length of which is equal only to the distancebetween successive address positions on the bill, means for operatingsaid driving member to bring said bill engaging part into successiveengagements with successive parts of said bills to advance the bill by asuccession of intermittent steps from an initial addressing positiondis- J'tances equal to the spacing between successive address positions,and means for advancing the successive bills into the initial addressingposition and into position to be engaged by said driving member when itmoves into driving engagement with the bill.

15. In a machine for addressing multi-section bills, addressingmechanism, means for advancing successive bills in a step by step mannerthrough said addressing mechanism including a rotatable driving memberhaving a driving face the eifective circumferential bill engaging anddriving length of which is equal only to the distance between successiveaddress positions on the bill, means for rotating said driving memberrepeatedly to move said driving face repeatedly into and out ofengagement with a bill for advancing it intermittently by steps equal tothe length of the driving face with intervening stationary periods ofthe bill, means for advancing a following bill into initial addressingposition and also into position to be operatively en-' .gaged by saiddriving face at a time when the HARMON P. ELLIOTT.

